My third and fourth child are learning to read! George has conquered three letter words and Annika is working her way through two sounds blended with a vowel. I have tried to get a more creative curriculum for reading, with pretty flashcards and cute poems, but I always seem to come back to the amazing job that this one book performs. We use Phonics Pathways. We do an ever so small amount each day because I learned the hard way that long time frames only add unnecessary frustration! So maybe its doing one page per day or maybe its just one row on that page but we simply progress. And by the end of the book you have a magnificent reader!
About a week ago a glorious day arrived in that process, the one where what had once been long lengths of sounding out individual letters metamorphosed into a connected strand suddenly becoming a cohesive unit! A little boy proudly spouting out words like - tug, dig, bed, and mat with the greatest of ease as he grins big and looks at his older brothers for winning approval. Ahh, let's just delight in the accomplishment of something, anything really, before we lament over the other quizzes, reviews, and tests that somehow failed to bring a grin. Oh, at least kindergarten can revel in its delight!
